The Indian art market is setting global records

The year 2005 was a watershed moment in the Indian art market. From rarely any activity in the early years of the new millennium to the sudden surge in art trading, the market became vibrant, only to be hit hard by the global recession in 2008. But the Indian art community had tasted blood. A resurgence was soon on its way, and by 2015, it was well and truly established.

A decade on, art auctions and record-breaking sales at almost every event have become the norm, the recent examples being SaffronArt’s Delhi auction to mark its 25th anniversary, Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art sale in London, and Pundole’s sale in Mumbai — all within the last two weeks.

At SaffronArt’s white glove sale — implying that every item on offer was sold — VS Gaitonde’s ‘Untitled’ (1970) sold for Rs 67.08 crore, setting a world record for the highest price achieved by the artist at an auction and became the second most expensive work of Indian art ever sold worldwide, the first being MF Husain’s ‘Gram Yatra’ (1954), which sold for Rs 118 crore at a Christie’s auction in March this year. That sale had broken the record set by Amrita Sher-Gil’s ‘The Storyteller’ in 2023, when it sold for Rs 61.8 crore at a SaffronArt auction. While collector and gallerist Kiran Nadar has confirmed buying ‘The Storyteller’, there has been no official word on her buying ‘Gram Yatra’ as well.

At the SaffronArt auction too, several records were created. ‘Trussed Bull’ by Tyeb Mehta (1956) sold for Rs 56.4 crore [at SaffronArt’s April auction, another of Mehta’s ‘Trussed Bull’ had sold for a staggering Rs 61.8 crore]. ‘The Anchorite’ (1983) by Jehangir Sabavala sold for Rs 16.8 crore, achieving the second-highest price for the artist at an auction globally. FN Souza’s ‘Six Gentlemen of Our Times’ (1955) sold for Rs 20.4 crore, marking the highest price ever achieved for a work on paper by a South Asian artist at an auction. Other records included ‘Nursery Tales’ by contemporary artist Nalini Malani (2008), which sold for Rs 3.6 crore — the highest price achieved by her at an auction.

The Sotheby’s sale — also a white glove auction — marked the Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Department’s highest total in its 30-year history, surpassing the previous record set in March this year. The sale produced seven new world auction records, including two for Souza.

The recent Pundole’s sale (100 per cent achieved) featured early pieces by SH Raza and a rare 1940s’ Husain canvas. Raza’s Bombay watercolours exceeded estimates, fetching Rs 4.88 crore in total, with a Chowpatty Beach view alone reaching Rs 2.2 crore. Mohan Samant’s works also outperformed, with ‘Red Carpet’ setting a new record for his work on paper at Rs 55 lakh. The highlight was Husain’s early canvas, which sold for an impressive Rs 19 crore. From other private collections, Arpita Singh’s 1989 canvas set a world record at Rs 16.5 crore [Singh has had a major retrospective in London this year], while Tyeb Mehta’s 1983 painting topped the sale at Rs 26 crore.

Bhupen Khakhar’s works saw strong results, with a large canvas fetching Rs 14 crore and a work on paper achieving a record Rs 4.2 crore. A Tagore sketch also reached Rs 4.2 crore, a record for the artist at a domestic auction.

This surge did not happen overnight.

Filip Vermeylen, Professor of Global Art Markets at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, in a 2023 study on new markets for Indian art, co-authored with Shambhavi Bhat, writes that the expansion of the contemporary art market in India over the past two decades occurred against the backdrop of globalisation of the art market: “…whereby the international art market system, with temporal and geographical succession of art fairs, biennials and auctions, became more widespread and integrated”.

The period following the recession was uncertain. But the founding of SaffronArt in 2002, the India Art Fair in 2008, and the Kochi Biennale in 2012 consolidated the art scene. “By 2014-2015, the Indian art market was experiencing its second growth phase in the new millennium, and this time, art auctions would be the main drivers of the market,” write Vermeylen and Bhat. The authors point out that while demonetisation and the newly implemented GST (12 per cent) on art and cultural goods threatened to dampen this surge, the high-end market was largely unaffected. The recent decrease in GST (to 5 per cent) could, however, broaden the buyer base by including younger collectors/investors.

So, what really is driving this rise?

Manjari Sihare-Sutin, Co-Worldwide Head, Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art, Sotheby’s, says, “India’s art market is experiencing a remarkable surge, fuelled by growing economic optimism and a strong sense of cultural identity. As the country’s global influence expands, art has become an important conduit for both local collectors and the Indian diaspora to reconnect with their roots. Importantly, the broader ecosystem — including galleries, auction houses and institutions in India and abroad — has evolved and this has led to increased trust in the lasting value of South Asian art.”

Manoj Mansukhani, director, AstaGuru Auction House, says recognition for Indian art has been long overdue. “Other factors include the surge in domestic wealth, renewed global interest in South Asian modernism, and the rarity of quality works appearing in auctions. Works by pioneering figures such as Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy, and Husain, among others, have become cultural assets. At the same time, the rise of new-age digital connectivity has transformed awareness: museums, galleries, and auction houses now reach wider audiences through online exhibitions, catalogues, and virtual sales. This is encouraging competitive bidding across the board.”

Over the years, the giants of modernism have remained auction darlings. In fact, Pundole’s sale brought the spotlight on another lesser-known modernist, Mohan Samant. As its director Dadiba Pundole says, “Samant generated sporadic waves of interest until now, but has quite firmly established himself amongst the modernists.”

Mansukhani says exhibitions, auctions and other archival projects have reframed the importance of Indian modernists within the global modernist story. “As awareness grew, so did collector confidence. Once the narrative shifted, the market quickly followed, and prices adjusted upward to reflect their true cultural weight.”

With time, the number of works by the modernists, or Bombay Progressives as they are called, will eventually decrease in circulation. Tyeb Mehta, for instance, painted only 200 canvases. That explains the prices his ‘Trussed Bulls’ have fetched. Uday Jain, director of Dhoomimal Gallery, says that this will lead to more senior artists being explored by galleries and auction houses.

SaffronArt’s press release notes that when Gaitonde’s work sold, the auction room was filled with overwhelming applause and jubilation. This sentiment echoes a confident market. Art critic and curator Uma Nair says this boom is a progressive pattern in auction records achieved for the Indian Masters, who have become blue-chip winners on the world auction record front.

British journalist John Elliott, who closely follows the Indian art scene, is positive when he says, “SaffronArt, Sotheby’s and Pundole’s have led the best-ever autumn auctions in Delhi, London and Mumbai with Christie’s tagging along in New York. A surge of fresh interest with many new entrants to the market, plus top-level competition, has led to comparisons with the 2005 boom.”

The changing profile of the buyer is certainly a big driver. Grapevine is abuzz about Nadar competing with a much younger Shankh Mitra, CEO of Welltower, a US real estate investment trust, at a few recent auctions. Mansukhani says art collecting in India was traditionally the domain of industrialists and prominent business families with long-standing ties. “That still holds true, but what’s changed is the rise of new-age high-net-worth individuals, often first-generation entrepreneurs, who don’t necessarily come from generational wealth.”

Nair says the dynamics have changed due to venture capitalists and industrial giants coming to the fore, as well as the increased presence of auction houses. “Let’s not forget Bonhams and AstaGuru, the two new entrants who have also staked their claim to fame for building records. Both Krishen Khanna and Thota Vaikuntam have new world records with AstaGuru,” she adds.

Uday Jain says that till last year, the entire market was assumed to be at around Rs 1,200 crore, but in the last three weeks alone, more than Rs 1,000 crore has been realised across four auctions. “Till two-three years ago, an entire auction of 80-100 works aggregating Rs 100 crore seemed a rarity, but today a single work of art gets these values. Does this mean the entire art scenario in India would change? Not at all.”

He says such prices affect only the top 5 per cent of artists. What it does is increase the level of interest in Indian art, both in India as well as in the West. “For younger artists and largely for the art market, all players would continue to play an important role — art colleges to train artists, residencies and foundations to identify and support these artists at an initial stage, and galleries to exhibit, represent and promote them,” he concludes.